ELMONT, NY — Patrick Roy prioritized sending the right message over urgency as his New York Islanders trailed 2-0 against the Buffalo Sabres after two periods. The head coach benched captain Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, and Anthony Duclair for the final period due to insufficient back-checking on Tage Thompson’s late second-period goal, resulting in the Islanders playing with three lines for the remainder of their 5-0 loss on Saturday at UBS Arena.
“It’s pretty simple: Back-checking is an important part of our game and our concept. We talked about it on the road, and it’s my job to make guys accountable… Back-checking doesn’t require talent; it requires will, and this is what this team is about.”
After a turnover in the Sabres’ zone, Barzal and Duclair lagged, leaving Lee as the sole forward aiding the defense. This allowed Thompson to capitalize on a pass from Zach Benson and score against David Rittich.
“Barzy is a leader on this team, and unfortunately, for Anders, he was on that line, and sometimes, you have to take it for the team,” Roy stated. “I have nothing to say about him…He’s part of that line. Anders has been playing hard; he works hard, and he back-checks hard. He does everything well, but that’s the line. You play with your linemate, you stick with your linemate, and you back your linemate.”
This line has consistently failed to back-check properly, as seen in their 4-1 loss to the Kraken, concluding a 3-3-1 road trip.
Saturday’s effort was the final straw.
“It was pretty straightforward,” Barzal noted about the benching. “Our line in Seattle gave up a few odd-man rushes, and in the last minute of the period [Saturday], we gave one up, and they scored. Patrick’s just doing what he thinks needs to be done to make us a winning team.”
The Islanders (27-19-5, 59 points) have now lost five of their last eight games, dropping their second-place hold in the Metropolitan Division. They are tied for third with the Philadelphia Flyers, whom they face on Monday.
“This shows that nobody gets special treatment here,” forward Bo Horvat, who returned after a nine-game absence, said. “No matter who you are, you’re going to be held accountable. When you see certain guys like that not play, it makes you want to work that much harder to not be in that position.”
Jason Zucker scored twice, with the first coming 33 seconds into the second period when he capitalized on a Jack Quinn shot that Rittich couldn’t handle.
Sabres goalie Alex Lyon made 26 saves, shutting out the Islanders for the first time this season. He remained composed, stopping three shorthanded breakaways by the Islanders, denying Horvat twice, and stopping Simon Holmstrom with a quick glove save.
Thompson capped Buffalo’s two-goal period with a goal that saw New York’s second line benched. Zucker scored his second goal shortly after the start of the third. Rasmus Dahlin added an empty-net goal, and Alex Tuch scored moments later.
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